Garth Brooks Stops by ‘Ellen,’ Admits He Was Afraid to Make His Country Comeback

Garth Brooks is in the middle of a three-year tour that has brought in millions of dollars and broken attendance records right and left, but after such an extended period off the grid, Brooks admits he was afraid his return would be a flop.

It may sound silly to fans now, but making a comeback can be nerve-wracking — even for an artist on his level.

"I was scared nobody would show up,” Brooks admits to Ellen DeGeneres during an appearance on Ellen on Oct. 21. “Everything moves on; I get it. Everything has its time. So when we announced Chicago, the opening city, I didn’t know what was gonna happen."

Brooks even confesses that when his phone rang a few minutes after the first show went on sale, his thoughts weren't good. “About 4-5 minutes into the on-sale, you get the phone call — that’s never good,” he explains. “It’s like, oh crap. I look at Ms. Yearwood and go, ‘Oh, no.’"

Fortunately, the result was more than just positive — they had already sold out several nights in Chicago, ending up with 11 total sold out appearances there.

“They’ve been sweet enough to show up like that at every show,” he says of fans who pack the stadiums.

Despite a long break from stardom, Brooks refused to raise ticket prices to an unaffordable amount, telling the Ellen audience humbly, “Well, still [60 dollars] is a lot of money to me, and you never go alone, so double it. It’s not easy to go see somebody you love."

“My retirement days are behind me; I can do this until they throw me out,” he promises with a laugh.

During his time on the show Brooks also gushed over wife Trisha Yearwood and dished on his new single, "Baby, Let’s Lay Down and Dance." He also treated the audience to a performance of the new track, as well as his classic hit, “Friends in Low Places."

Brooks will continue on his World Tour, not even pausing to release two albums of new music in November — a holiday record with Yearwood called Christmas Together(Nov. 11) and a new studio album called Gunslinger(Nov. 25).